Council on Aging

Post date: Jul 10, 2017 6:31:21 PM

Last week the COA sent 37 slightly used or new coats along to the Village Ambulance as an installment for the annual coat drive. The COA and Village have cooperated on the coat drive for several years now and have provided many local citizens with warm winter coats along the way. With the COA collecting an average 75-100 each year, the delivery of 37 for October sees us off to a strong start for the year!The collection process will run through January 31st this year so there is still plenty of time to help someone less fortunate if you are able!

The Garden Club of Williamstown will be at the Harper Center at 1:00 on Tuesday November 14th to talk about "forcing" bulbs in decorative pots and additionally, about succulents which are plants like Aloe Vera and jade trees. Forcing bulbs is a way to make your favorite spring flowers blossom in the wintertime. Ever wonder how some people can have winter tulips? Now you can find out.

Hedy Lipez Burbank has succeeded Peg Jenks as the SHINE Counselor at the Harper Center for Williamstown. Peg left us recently for personal reasons. She had been our resident SHINE Counselor for over 10 years and her presence will be missed!

SHINE is an acronym for "Serving Health Insurance Needs for Everyone". SHINE Counselors are versed in senior health insurance issues and can be very helpful to individuals during open enrollment periods or who need assistance choosing a Medicare Supplemental Plan.

Hedy will be available by appointment through the COA office at 458.8250. She will also have open session days on a regularly scheduled basis and we'll announce that in the Harper Center Bulletin when the schedule is determined.

A reminder that Thanksgiving dinners with all the fixings are available for Williamstown elders without means to access a meal for free by contacting All Saints Episcopal Church in North Adams at 664.9645 between the hours of 9:00 a.m.and 1:00 p.m.by November 18th. There will be an answering machine ready to take messages in the off hours, just leave name, telephone number and address and they'll contact you. Another option would be for the COA to call and make a reservation for you and you can reach us at 458.8250.

Marion Quinn-Jowett, COA Outreach worker leads a walking group on a short jaunt around the Southworth/Church/Cole Avenue area every Thursday, weather permitting at 9:00. In recent months they have been gathering trash they find along the way and disposing of it upon return. She reports that on the heels of Halloween the collection was rather heavy lest Thursday with lots of candy debris gathered up along the way. Just a part of our efforts to keep this portion of the Village Beautiful...

We'll be focusing on walking group activity more frequently in coming months with larger group efforts but in the meanwhile our small group meets at Harper on Thursday morning at 9:00, all welcome!

Finally our Grief Support Group will recommence on December 8th, a Friday, and will meet from 2:00-3:30 Friday afternoons through January 12th, 2018. The group provides comfort and support for folks who have experienced loss in their lives and who could benefit from a little support. The group is lead by Corrine Zinni Case, an experienced bereavement counselor, funded for this round through a grant acquired from Massachusetts COA.